


Bravery

by Archadian_Skies



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Aleksis is a tank, Gen, Mako is a cutiepie, this isn't how tags work is it, together they are a cutietank
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-28
Updated: 2013-07-28
Packaged: 2017-12-21 15:24:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/901852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Archadian_Skies/pseuds/Archadian_Skies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mako is adjusting to her new life in the Tokyo Shatterdome. Luckily she has some new Russian friends to make her feel 7ft tall and invincible. Written for the prompt 'Busted: Your character will catch mine doing something they shouldn’t.'</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bravery

Yesterday they had built a snowman taller than her, and she had laughed and looked up at them with stars in her eyes.

Today the same eyes looked at him from up over the end of the table. He gave her an acknowledging nod, and she came around to stand at his side.

“Good morning Alekshis.” She greeted slowly, the sounds stumbling on her unaccustomed tongue. Scooting over, he patted the spot beside him and watched as she carefully clambered up onto the bench.

She didn’t have her mittens on, and her fingers seemed tiny in comparison to his as she squeezed his thumb.

“Play?” Mako asked, voice full of hope. Reaching for his tablet, he quickly tapped out a reply.

[Sasha not here. Sasha is with Marshall.]

“Play together?” She patted his hand. He pointed at himself quizzically.

_Me?_

“Yes.”

[What to play?]

“Pretend Jaeger!” She answered without a moment of hesitation, eagerly bouncing in her seat. He grinned, gently scooping her up and sitting her on his shoulders. Giggling madly, she clung to his head as he held her boots to keep her secure.

“Let’s go!”

* * *

 

They had an incredible kill-count by lunchtime, and she had grown accustomed to her speechless yet growling Jaeger. The technicians of the Tokyo Shatterdome were quick to catch on, and when she ordered her Russian ‘robot’ to attack, they fell to their dramatic deaths with great gusto.

“Plasma Cannon Fire!” She shouted, motioning for him to move. He braced his right arm with his left hand and pretended to ‘fire’ at a nearby engineer. She clutched her heart and slumped against the wall with a wail.

Mako shrieked with laughter, clutching Aleksis’ hair as she doubled over. Though he couldn’t see her properly, he tilted his head up and grinned at her. She gave him a pat.

“Pilot Kaidanoshiki GO!” The little girl shouted, arms up in the air. Chuckling, Aleksis made his way to the main area where the Jaegers stood at attention. Cherno Alpha, but a year old and customised just for he and Sasha, slumbered closest to the bay doors beside Coyote Tango; both were ready to be deployed at a moment’s notice. Back in Russia, Cherno Alpha’s little brother Eden Assassin kept the watch.

No one questioned Aleksis as he marched up onto the deck with his much smaller, much younger co-pilot of the day sitting on his shoulders. Setting her back onto her feet, he opened the hatch door and stood aside as Mako darted inside with a squeal of glee. She had never been inside a Conn-Pod before, and she ran around investigating everything she could find.

Her little hands met the handle of a small compartment box on one of the dashboards, and she curiously pulled it open. An assortment of items were found inside, most of which she couldn’t identify (what were those small flat square packets anyway? They seemed to hold some sort of circular object that was squishy- maybe chewing gum?). She came across a tube of lipstick, and she held it up almost reverently. Popping off the cap, she stared at its brilliant red colour admirably.

Aleksis crouched to her height, grinning at her discovery.

“Sasha.” She whispered, clutching the lipstick with both hands. He nodded: Sasha, his other half; the woman who wore lipstick like warpaint. Taking the cosmetic from her hands, he curled his fingers at her chin before gently pressing the tip to the center of her lips. A smudge of colour stained her mouth when he drew back, and they both shared a sheepish smile.

“Sasha Kaidanoshiki on deck!” Mako announced, holding up her fists. Aleksis nodded, taking his place on the left side and mirroring her actions.

“Cherno Alpha ready!” She shouted.

“Mako?” A voice demanded behind them, and both of them jumped. The real Sasha stood in the doorway, arms crossed and head tilted questioningly. Aleksis remained frozen as her eyes searched his face for an explanation.

God knew he was equal parts madly in love with her and absolutely terrified- something that amused her to no end whenever they Drifted.

“Marshall has looked for you all morning, _Kotyonok_.” Sasha tisked, coming to her side before dropping into a crouch. Mako looked incredibly ashamed, and she quickly wiped her mouth with the back of her hand in a desperate attempt to remove the lipstick. Her eyes brimmed with tears, but she pursed her lips and awaited her scolding.

Instead Sasha kissed her brow, leaving behind a bright red print, and enveloped the small girl in an embrace. Sitting her on her shoulders, Sasha laughed brightly as she stood and took her place on the right side.

“You cannot fight Kaiju if you cannot see over controls!” She turned and winked at her co-pilot, who blushed thickly and cleared his throat before looking away. “Cherno Alpha ready!”

 “Ready to fight!” Mako cried, and for the first time in a long while she felt brave enough to take on the world.

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place in 2016: Cherno Alpha has been in service with the Kaidanovskys for a year and Mako has been in the care of Stacker Pentecost for a few months. References taken from this post: http://radiophile.tumblr.com/post/56269633807/pacific-rim-jaeger-pilots-ages


End file.
